How southern Africa can unleash its agric potential-DG IITA

The Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga has called on Southern African countries to tap into the youth population in the region to address food insecurity and end unemployment.

Addressing policymakers and youths in the region at a conference organized by Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (CCARDESA), Dr Sanginga said the youth population in the region should be seen as more of an asset than a problem.

“Youths have the energy, and if we are able to tap into this energy we will be able to advance agriculture on the continent,” Dr Sanginga who was represented by Dr Alfred Dixon, said in Durban, South Africa, 3-6 August.

Speaking on the topic:  Unlocking Agribusiness Opportunities for Youth in Southern Africa; the Director General gave an account of how a youth program (IITA Youth Agripreneurs) initiated by IITA in 2012 is attracting youths into agriculture.

“From zero dollars, these youths have been able to grow their income to $700 per month,” he explained.

“On their own, these young men and women are today managing different enterprises including cassava, maize, vegetables, soybean, banana and plantains, fish, and livestock,” he added.

According to him, the experience of IITA from the youth program clearly demonstrated that with institutional support and mentoring, youths could be engaged in agriculture to make a decent living.

The IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) also gave their presentation during the break-away sessions, in the sub-theme 3 group tagged; The Role of Youth in Innovations and Agribusiness Solution: Cassava Case Study by the IITA Youth Agripreneurs. The presentation was titled: “Cassava Product, Processing and Marketing.” 

Mustapha Quadri, a member of IYA, gave the presentation after which he took questions from the audience. The presentation was based on the various products and value addition that can be derived from cassava. Cassava products were concentrated on due to the fact that the exhibition focused on cassava-based products. Participants visiting the exhibition stands liked the cassava products (eg  fufu, garri, tidbits, chinchin, cake and cookies).

Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), DrYemiAkinbamijo said, “Agricultural sector needs to be transformed in order to provide employment for the youth in Africa and we need to increase value addition to attract the youth.”

The Executive Director of CCARDESA, Prof Timothy Simalenga on his part commended IITA and other partners for initiating youth programs to attract youths into agriculture, and emphasized that CCARDESA would continue to support agricultural development in the region with emphasis on getting more youths engaged in agriculture.

Those who attended the meeting from IITA were: Dr Alfred Dixon, Mr Godwin Atser, UgheokeAvoedoghia Diana,Mustapha Quadri, Christophe Kongolo, Caroline Liwena, Bupe Gwasa, Ronald Ongario and Christine Zamugurha.

The unseen opportunities- by MD Flower Gardens

Abraham Akawu, MD Flower Gardens

Floriculture and nursery industries together are often referred to as ‘ornamentals’ or ‘the ornamental industry’ or ‘non-food agriculture’. The phrase ‘ornamental horticulture’ also includes the sod and Christmas tree industries. A review of the ornamental horticulture has shown a wider benefits that many people do not know about as revealed in our interview with one of the practicing stakeholders who said that the plants can provide multiple benefits to the economy, environment and human lifestyles as many of these benefits are not well known or understood by the general population.  As a result, there is a considerable opportunity for the ornamental horticulture industry to sell more products based on its benefits. Read the rest of excerpts with Seun as Mr. Abraham Akawu of the MD Flower Gardens at the Jabi Primary School spoke on the opportunities at flower cultivations.

Can you introduce yourself?

I am Abraham Akawu in charge of the MD Flower Gardens at the Jabi Primary School, which I will call a family business, because it is a business our father introduced to us as it was also introduced to him. The MD Flower Garden has been in existence for past twenty years now. 

Why are you doing this business?

As I earlier said MD Flower Gardens is a business introduced to us by our father who we also believed has inherited the business from his own father too. I will tell you that flower horticulture business is a business that pays more the other aspect of agriculture. The flower horticulture business is no just a business but a means of employment, to tell you the truth we have close to about seven (7) staff here and we also have a branch at the Idu Yard junction opposite Pepsi junction with another set of workers. Yes so many people see us managing flowers, but because they have failed to ask questions they remain ignorant to see the opportunities in the business.

How would you describe the business?

 Early civilization has found that plants were used to furnish foods, medicines, clothing and shelter. Ancient Chinese documented the many uses of plants for beautification. Plant collections were an important activity by the Egyptian military and commercial expeditions, and Egypt became a breeding ground for plant magic. 

The Greeks excelled in their inventiveness of plant superstitions. Christian priests in Europe used plants and flowers as teaching tools, and missionaries brought back to church garden flower plants as source of ornaments. Those who preserved flowers’ lawn and achieved both good and bad with plants during the Renaissance were called witches or herb women. Victorian times witnessed many wealthy countries using flowers and plants for ornamental uses, sometimes paying enormous sums to collect and house their prizes. 

As more people gravitated toward cities during the Industrial Revolution they began to use plants as decoration, being a reminder of their rural heritage and improvement of their surroundings. In Canada, after both World Wars, the surge in immigrants with backgrounds in cultivation of plants, coupled with improvements in transportation, government disseminated production information, growing methodologies and technologies, and breeding of new varieties all encouraged the development of greenhouse and nursery facilities for growing ornamental plants.

What is the economic benefit of Floriculture?

There are many benefits that one can derive in this business ranges from economic to environmental and what I want to call a life style. Under the economic benefits, having a particular species of flowers in the house can give your home a cooling environment that may not require spending money on any air-conditioner that will be gulping energy money in terms of electricity. Also a well flowered lawn house will attract rentals because everybody will like to live or work in a beautiful environment just as someone will be attracted to paying a premium price on a well floriculture house. There is no way a tourism business will strive without injection of floriculture of using flowers to beautify an environment.

On environmental benefits, it can be used to moderate urban climate extremes occasioned by climate change, mitigate urban heat island as flowers produce oxygen, sequester carbon and ameliorate pollutions thereby improving air quality both indoor and outdoor. It has high potential of phytoremediation to mitigate the environmental problem without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it elsewhere as it Improves water quality, treat sewage and wastewater, Improve water management (flood control) and erosion control, reduce impacts of weather through windbreaks and shelterbelts, reduce noise pollution, control urban glare and reflection, attract birds and other wildlife.

Lifestyle Benefit- Reduces stress and improve productivity at workplace or any school environment as it can calm and reduce discomforts, hasten recovery of patients in the hospitals as it serves as practical horticultural therapy to improve mind, body and spirit. Improve general quality of life in urban settings, Create pride in community through community gardens and allotment gardens. It is use to get attention and concentration improvements for children, reduces aggression and violence, provide space for recreation, enhances sport field safety, encourages healthy active and passive lifestyle pursuits.

How are you making the market?

To survive, the industry has to sell more plants or flowers and obtain higher prices. The four ways to increase ornamental sales are: Increase the number of households who are purchasing and younger customers. Increase the frequency of purchases by existing buyers. Increase the transaction value per buying occasion. Create a popular culture of personal use and enjoyment of ornamentals.

Can you list some of the flowers you have here for customers?

Mentioning a few of the flowers Zebralin, Antrium, Efaventure.

What are the challenges faced in the business?

The cost of maintenance I will say is our major problem, during the dry season; we need more water to wet our plant depending on the location, if there is no water at the location then we need to buy, which is an additional cost.

How do you breed your flowers?

We breed our flowers through their appearance and study. These plants before displayed in our garden must have undergone research and study on how it grows, its lifespan, its sunlight attribute etc. Floriculture farmers produce about 6,000 species of cut flowers, potted flowering plants, houseplants, cut foliage, bedding plants, bulbs, cuttings for propagation, food and medicinal plants in greenhouses and outdoor-grown cut flowers.

Nursery farmers produce about 9,000 species of annual and perennial plants, woody shrubs (foreign flowers), deciduous and coniferous trees, roses, outdoor garden flowers, Christmas trees and sod.

However, the domestic market for ornamentals has remained relatively flat, despite the increased interest in gardening and landscaping over the past two decades. This is because flowers, indoor plants and landscaping have to compete with many other luxury items. The Nigerian horticultural industry can produce approximately 2 billion naira or more annually if investments are proactively deplored to the sub sector by our government.

Cotton stakeholders advocate RMRDC empowerment, demand quality seeds and market.

cotton

The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOSAN) in a meeting organized by the umbrella body Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN) has strongly advocated for more funding to Raw Material Research Development (RMRDC) based on its strong commitment to ensuring intervention for mass production of agricultural raw materials for industrial uses through quality inputs provision through other mandates agencies or any private sector with ingenuity capacity which it has exhibited in cotton, tomatoes and many other crops. 

While the RMRDC was noted for its contributions to locally produced local raw  materials for  industrial uses to checkmating the import bills running to billion  on agricultural materials alone for further industrial foods and other products for further manufacturing and production with evidence of positive impact in the many crops, especially in cotton quality production for textile industry according to spokesmen of NACOSAN) in a meeting organized towards ensuring standard to prevent rejections in the global markets.

Commending RMRDC, the Chairman of NACOSAN, Ondo state, Mr. Ogungbe Richard said the passionate effort of representative of RMRDC towards encouraging cotton farmers in the south through provision of quality seeds saying its activity in this regards is very encouraging and disserved more government financial support for her to continue in making local raw materials availability for industrial uses through research intervention of quality seeds and processing materials.

Mr. Richard pointed that the South West cotton market potential in the world market’s demand is increasing day by day as more foreign textile companies abroad are showing interest as off takers thereby asking for more potent, improve and ecology adaptable variety quality seeds for this region stressed that there is need to researching into long stable variety of Samcot 11 for the use of farmers.

According to him “At a conference held outside this country which I attended, about 12 companies in China identified with South West cotton and that is what brought Arewa Company into the South. I want to commend the effort of officers of the RMRDC and also solicit for FG more funding for the council because of their passion for development of locally produced raw material to checkmating imports through supply of quality seeds for standard produce; otherwise many of us would have quitted farming in the region. But I must say there is need to establish cool room for prevention of improved seeds quality because cotton in the region can give 500,000 job if properly positioned”.

The Edo state NACOTAN, Rev. Moris supporting the view of his colleague from south west said that there is need for more logistic for cotton and other crops’ production in the region adding that farmers need to replicate more foundational seeds for more multiplication

Rice import waiver: Senate Adhoc orders Ebony Agro to pay 228 million naira.

President Muhammadu Buhari

All effort of the Chairman of the Ebony Agro Limited Nigeria, the former minister of commerce and industry, Mr. Charles Ugwu under President late Yar’adua fell into deaf ears of the Senate Adhoc committee on waiver, concession and grants as Senator Adamu Aliero ordered that the company should pay N228million to government cover being a penalty for importing 10,000 metric tons higher its allotted allocation just as the same applied to other companies. 

The company chairman, Mr. Charles Ugwu who admitted the offence however passionately pleaded that the company be forgiven being the first indigenous company that responded to local production of milled rice to mitigate challenges of paddy off takers from farmers saying his company did not import finished rice but rather processed rice adding the payment can affect the production operation of the company for now.

All the members of the committee unanimous agreed that there is nothing the committee could do to favour any company that has not conformed to quality of waivers given as Senators Olugbenga Aishafa and Alasoadura said the rule cannot be bent for any company rather than doing the right things as demanded by the Federal government levy rules and laws.

In his chat with NTA, the Chairman, Adhoc Committee on waiver, concession and grant on food import, Sen. Adamu Aliero said that all effort would be made to ensure all necessary revenue of the Federal Government through the custom duty back to her cover stressed many of the waiver do not follow due process as there was no basis for food importation our farmers can produce.

Sen. Aliero pointed that companies who are producing what we cannot will still enjoy waiver benefits as long as there is status permit that guarantee them the bringing of goods that are duty bound.

He said that “but unfortunately it was discovered that the traffic were never consulted right from 2011 up till now. These waivers are just issued without recourse to due process and that is why there is a lot of abuses associated to it and we are hoping to come out with good recommendation that will stop abuses and allow due process to be followed in giving probity waivers. That is what we want to do. 

There are waives that are good. For example an industry that is coming to Nigeria for the first time to manufacture goods or services that is not available in the country. And normally they are entitled to bring in goods that are duty free and such thing is designed for the economy which is good for us as it is allowed. First, the goods are not what we can manufacture, and secondly, if they come and establish industry, they will provide employment for Nigerians and this is one of the incentives used by most of the developing countries and Nigeria should not be an exception. 

We are desirous that waiver should be issued but against the indiscriminately issue of waivers that are extended to consumable that could be produced locally. I give you example; there is no point in giving waiver to rice. We can produce rice locally. We have farmers, land and to be honestly with you, we can equally feed ourselves. By giving waiver, you are more or less discouraging the local farmers because our farmers cannot compete with farmers in India, Thailand in terms of facility you can ever think of like R&T Research Development unit are up to date”.

Both Messrs Stallion Group and Olam International which were both involved in rice importation running to the tune of N44billion naira as debt being for import duties on 457,000 metric tons of rice since last year May has also been ordered by the Senate Committee chairman to pay without delay saying “Nigeria will not fold hands and watch the huge debt swept under the carpet. 

There is no way government will ignore this kind of money. We have to ensure that this money is collected and deposited into the Federation Account”.

The companies’ allegation according to Sen. Aliero was that they imported rice into the country without paying waiver, off-loaded it into their warehouses and refused to pay the required duties when asked by the Customs authority adding that instead of payment Stallion group decided to take court action agains NCS. He accused the company of exceeding the import quota of 157,000 to 457,000. 

Defending the company, the Executive Director of Stallion Group, Harpreet Singh said that their mission in Nigeria was to ensure the country’s food sufficiency in rice production saying the nation’s borders were porous and that the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had granted the approval based on rice fiscal policy on May 2014.